On today’s date in 1937, one of Copland’s less familiar works had its premiere performance—on the radio. The radio premiere was the result of a commission from the Columbia Broadcasting System, and was premiered by the CBS Symphony Orchestra.

This work has at least three different titles. Originally titled simply “Music for Radio,” as requested by the network, it was given the more colorful name “Saga of the Prairies” as the result of an on-air listener contest sponsored by CBS. Later, when Copland himself published the music, it bore the title: “Prairie Journal.” So—take your pick.

Copland received a $500 commission—quite generous in those days—and was thrilled that his music would reach millions of listeners with a single broadcast.

Today, new music by contemporary composers is still occasionally commissioned by radio stations and radio networks.

In 1993, “Still Movement with Hymn” was commissioned from Aaron Jay Kernis by American Public Radio (now Public Radio International) and broadcast nationally on one of their program offerings. In this case, however, the actual concert premiere occurred before the radio broadcast, in Princeton, New Jersey, in November of 1993 with pianist Christopher O’Riley, who also participated in the radio broadcast.

“Still Movement with Hymn,” is one of a series of elegiac works by Kernis, written in memory of American composer Stephen Albert, who was killed in a car accident the year before.